MOVING IMAGE | Aspect Ratio: Which Should You Choose?

There are all sorts of things going on in films that the average punter might not know, know about or notice. Editing is often called “The Invisible Art” because, broadly speaking, when it’s successful, we don’t notice it. And then there’s cinematography, which can be as flashy as it can be unflashy, and sometimes its both of those things simultaneously. There are probably all sorts of things going on in certain shots that we don’t notice, even when there’s still a bunch of stuff that we do.

Do you know what aspect ratios are? Our completely uneducated guess is that maybe about half of you do and half of you don’t. And yet, you probably really like movies and aspect ratio has been an important part of movies since movies were invented! So what the heck is going on?

What aspect ratios are and how they function within the real of cinematic style can be a muddling thing to wrap your head around. But understanding cinema, of course, is what video essays are for. And we’ve got just the one for you if you’re wanting to know more about aspect ratios. This particular video essay comes courtesy of YouTube channel, Now You See It. Watch it, enjoy it, learn it, and be grateful we live in an age in which learning can be fun and easily digestible.